Blindfolded
by MadHitman
Summary: Set in late season 1. Connor wakes up in the hospital after an accident on an anomaly site. He has to wear a blindfold to protect his eyes and suffers from temporary memory loss. What good could possibly come from this?


Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval or anything associated with it.

Don't really know where the idea came from, but it wasn't going away, so I present my third one-shot. I don't know why, but these always turn out different from the original 'plan'. Let me say in advance that I don't know if the medical facts are correct. Reviews are always much appreciated. Have fun reading!

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Blindfolded

Something wasn't right. That was Connor's first coherent thought after his conscience slowly escaped the fog of sleepiness. But as he became more and more aware of his surroundings he noticed that there indeed was something wrong. He had opened his eyes seconds ago and everything was still pitch-black. Panic rose within him and his breathing quickened while he tried to remember what had happened to him. It only added to the bad feeling in his stomach that he wasn't capable of doing so, despite of trying his hardest. Finally, the feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him and his right hand went straight to his head to remove whatever was blocking his sight from his face. Connor had barely touched the fabric which was covering his eyes with his fingertips, when his wrist was caught in a strong grip.

He yelped at the sudden contact and wanted to scream, but his throat didn't let out a single sound, it only ached instead.

"Connor, calm down." He stopped fighting the hold. The voice was very familiar. "It's alright."

"C-Cutter?" he croaked. The presence of his professor really had a soothing effect on him.

"Yes, it's me." came the reply from his left, as Connor registered, though somehow everything still felt fuzzy.

Then something cool touched his chin and he twitched in surprise again. It really bothered him, not being able see what was going on. His hands then reached there to determine what it was and after a second he could identify the object as a glass, probably filled with water. Gratefully he took it in his own hands, drank and let the cool liquid run down his throat. After enjoying the moment and hoping his ability to speak would return soon, Connor carefully took the glass from his mouth. It was taken away a second later by Cutter and he could hear it being placed on a table somewhere nearby.

"Where am I? And why…?" he gestured to blindfold over his eyes, or at least he thought he did.

Cutter sighed. "We're in a hospital, Connor. You got hurt in the lab yesterday. Can you remember what happened?"

He shook his head in response. Why should he have been at the lab? He studied paleontology and not chemistry. "Yesterday? Was I out an entire day? What time is it even-"

"Alright, stop. I guess I have my answer. The doctor said temporary loss of memory could also be a side effect."

"Side effect of what?" Connor burst out.

He hated literally being in the dark. By now his other senses at least seemed to compensate the loss vision a bit. He could feel the firm mattress and the bed sheets that definitely were not his own. Furthermore the distinct smell of sanitizer was in the air, which always gave away the sterile atmosphere of hospitals. There also was something else that he couldn't put his finger on. It was a very subtle note and he almost didn't notice it, if it would not be such a pleasant change from the aggressive clinic smell.

"The explosion." Cutter answered at last. "In all the chaos at the laboratory a fire broke out. A few chemical containers then caught fire, too, resulting in an explosion. Most of us got out unscathed and we were lucky the smoke wasn't poisonous. You on the other hand were closest and got knocked unconscious. The doctors say you had a mild concussion and they gave you the blindfold so your eyes can recover, since the flames were very bright. They also gave you painkillers."

"Okay." Connor simply said. This was very confusing to him, plus the weird dreams… he inevitably had to smile. "Painkillers in addition to an explosion of some ominous chemicals would at least explain these crazy dreams I had."

The professor's chuckles echoed in the apparently small room. "What were they about?"

"You'll think I'm crazy." He snorted.

"As if I wouldn't think so anyways."

"Hey!" He wanted to sound offended, but couldn't stop himself from cracking a smile. "Well, I guess you're right. Anyways, the only thing that's not surprising in the dream was that dinosaurs appeared. Apart from that pretty much nothing was normal. Imagine this: Stephen, you and me discovered this insane glowing thing in the Forest of Dean. Turns out that those wree rips in time and space and actually led to the past. This is where the dinosaurs come in, because they could come through and so we had to somehow get them back to their own time. Of course they had to be carnivorous. Then there was this woman from the home office you knew, which told all that to her boss and all off a sudden we worked for the government! That was so badass!"

"Connor, you know-" Cutter tried to get in, but it looked like what was left of the painkillers had made the student a little loopy.

"-and there was this… Angel. I swear, the most beautiful women I have ever seen – or dreamed of I guess. You know, short, light blonde hair and incredible blue eyes. Not very tall, but gorgeous, you wouldn't believe it. Abby was her name. She was on our team, too, because she had seen those rips in time. I even moved in her flat, though that's all there was. You know my social skills-"

This time Cutter coughed audibly to shut Connor up. "I'm going to find a doctor, to tell him you're awake."

He heard footsteps, seemingly hurried, a door opened and closed. Then there was silence again.

"So, an angel, huh?" Connor almost jumped out of his skin when the female voice rung out to his right.

"Who- who is this?" He managed to stutter, while his heart was still beating like crazy.

Like Cutter, she sounded awfully familiar, too. "Let's just say that your dreams are way more real than you think."

"Abby?" He asked.

Suddenly it felt like his whole face felt like it was on fire and he could only imagine how red he must have been. This was why Cutter had left so abruptly. Again Connor could just think of how he would have a good laugh about this. Of course he remembered everything now: The Forest of Dean, the anomalies and all of that had actually happened. Naturally this also meant all of his bad attempts at flirting with Abby had also happened.

"I, um…" He could hear her giggle at his obvious embarrassment.

"It's okay, Connor. That actually must have been the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

After a few moments he felt her unbelievably soft lips against his cheeks.

"We were worried about you." she murmured as he sat there flustered.

Connor then noticed her perfume - the scent he had already picked up earlier - and smirked despite the feeling in his chest. "Wait a minute. Are you doing the girl thing for me?"

"Now _that_ is a dream of yours, isn't it?" she teased.

He just shrugged. "Maybe. I bet you look great, anyway."

Abby was lucky that he couldn't see her blush and shook her head. "Let's see if we can get you out of here."

A few minutes Cutter and Abby came back with a doctor, who checked Connor thoroughly, a process he didn't really enjoy. Being touched by strangers usually was awkward enough to him, but not being able to see added a total new level to that feeling. Though in the end it was worth it, because apart from some bruises and scratches he was fine and allowed to go home. However, the question if he could take of his blindfold was still answered with no, 'just to be on the safe side.'

The three of them made their way to the parking lot and Connor already had to admit that temporarily being blind had its advantages. For example, Abby hadn't let go of him since they had left his room in the hospital and that was definitely something he could get used to. They said good bye to Cutter, who appeared to be relieved Connor was up and well, got into their car and were on their way home. The ride was spent in content silence. His life had not been in danger, but the well-being of each team member meant a lot to the others. So when one got to the hospital it was always nice to get him out and knowing that he's okay.

In Abby's mind today was not very different, yet on the other hand it was. Not too long ago it was Stephen who had been in the hospital, at the hands of a potentially lethal poison. Her somewhat childish crush on him had pretty much dissolved then, after he had asked her out in a delirious state, only to not remember that when he was fully conscious. Even worse, she had to find out that he in fact was in a relationship with a woman called Allison. Since those events Abby hadn't really focused much on the opposite gender, or at least she thought so. In the recent weeks her dear flat mate's advances in her direction became less frequent and to her own surprise she wasn't sure what to make of it. Like probably every other woman on the planet she couldn't deny that she certainly didn't mind the attention, even if she had clearly stated otherwise.

In the beginning his characteristics had made it easy for her to put him in the category of friends, flat mates and colleagues. But the disillusion about Stephen had her realizing how those very same traits made him special in more ways than one. Not only was he an exception to the guys she usually met in appearance or style, but he also had a totally different way of getting through to her, even if he didn't notice that himself. Hardly anyone had ever taken interest or time to get to know her beyond her looks and they sure didn't put in more effort than a weak pick-up line. Not that his lines were any better in the beginning or that his methods were very subtle. Yet unlike the rest he most of all respected her wishes and settled for being friends, just because she asked him to, just to make her happy. All of that had her contemplating one thing: What more could she ask of him?

Having arrived at their flat Abby parked the car and helped Connor get out. She unlocked the door, guided him up the stairs where he plopped down on the couch and continued her thoughts in the kitchen, while preparing dinner for the both of them. From her spot at the counter she could see him trying to find the remote for the TV, which he couldn't really _watch_ with the blindfold on. It was adorable to see and made something in her chest tighten in a way she usually would prefer it didn't. Once again the blonde asked herself if she should allow herself to make a special place for him within her heart. What worried her the most was the possibility that his infatuation with her could dissolve into nothing just like her crush on Stephen had done. If _they _wouldn't work out, how were they supposed to work and even live together?

Like it or not, the secret of the anomalies connects them. It's not that they didn't know people aside from the anomaly project, but it wasn't possible to talk to anybody about what they did. That alone made it very difficult to establish relationships with outsiders. Another reason to accept Connor as… Abby berated herself for actually doing a pro and con list in her head. She admitted that many of her decisions were spontaneous and she hardly regretted any of them. In consequence she assumed that at some point she would know what to do. However, her instincts told her, that this point could be reached earlier than she believed.

Buried in her own thoughts, Abby had almost forgotten their dinner in front of her. That was until Connor carefully made his way over to the kitchen table and ungracefully sat down on one of the chairs.

"What are you cooking?" He sniffed. "Smells delicious."

"Just spaghetti and tomato sauce, so nothing special. Are you hungry?"

He nodded emphatically. "You bet I am. Haven't eaten anything since yesterday, after all."

"I guess not." With that she put the pot and two plates on the table and hesitated. "I don't have to feed you, do I?"

"What? No, I'm good. I mean, I'll manage somehow." he began to ramble.

"Okay, then."

They ate their meal silently while Abby watched Connor 'managing somehow' and getting tomato sauce all over his face in the process. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his head. Not at this particular moment, though more in general. Normally finding it out wasn't that much of a problem, since he always wore his heart on his sleeve. One could easily read his face like a book with only a bit of common sense. Now that his eyes were covered, she found that a lot harder, not that she was expecting any deep thoughts during dinner. Just when she had finished eating and wiped the tomato sauce off her mouth, Connor cleared his throat.

He hadn't been very talkative on the way home and it wasn't like him to keep his mouth shut for such a long time. But he had a good reason, at least in his mind. Abby hadn't really reacted to anything he had said in the past half hour. If he had learned anything about her, that could mean one of two things. Either she was angry or she was thinking long and hard about something. In both cases she was pretty much ignoring her surroundings. He really wished he could see her face now, so that his next words wouldn't have to be a shot in dark.

"Is everything okay, Abby?" he finally asked.

She looked up from her plate to meet his eyes, annoyed that she only saw the black fabric instead. "Yeah, why?"

"You're really quiet, you know? Normally means you're mad at me. Or something else." he added.

"No, everything's fine. Just thinking…"

His brows furrowed in response. "About what?"

"That you got tomato sauce all over your face." she laughed.

"Oh." Connor hastily tried wipe everything away, but of course missed half of it.

"Let me help you."

Abby suggested and leaned forward to reach his. In the moment her thumb made contact with his cheek she could hear – and feel – his sharp inhaling. Slowly, softly and very close to a caress she stroked along his jaw line to swipe away the remaining sauce. Connor had to keep himself from sighing out loud, although the temperature of his skin revealed the better half of his thoughts anyways. And Abby found herself proven right. It was one of those crystallizing moments, in which everything seemed clear all of a sudden.

Connors breath hitched once again as he audibly sucked the sauce of her fingers. "In all seriousness… I thought about you."

Her hand was back on his cheek.

"Me."

Her other hand traveled up to his neck.

"And the girl thing."

Then she pressed her lips to his and all previous concerns vanished at his immediate response. What he had said about her at the hospital may have been drug induced, but the way he was kissing her now, there was absolutely no mistake about his feelings. Connor wasn't as sure about her intentions, yet he didn't exactly pay much attention to those thoughts. For now he would just enjoy following Abby's lead and see where she would take him.


End file.
